


Unloveable Hand

by TemenCMoth



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8243660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemenCMoth/pseuds/TemenCMoth
Summary: Jack was watching him, choosing this rare spare moment they both had to strike. He said something has been wrong lately. He knew that Gabe hadn't been going to the mandatory trimonthly psych evals. He feels, hilariously, achingly like a middle manager at a performance review, that Gabriel has been withdrawn."I'm the head of the dark side of the world's shining beacon of cooperation and good-fucking-feelings." A long exhale, dragging out the smoke. "I feel like being a little withdrawn comes with the territory."





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote literally all of this tonight because I am sick and have a long week ahead of me. Might edit this later, might not. Actually might just edit the title, just posted the first random sing lyric that popped into my head, ha. Let me know if you catch a typo, if you can.

Gabriel would survive a fall from this roof. A normal person might not, might snag on some of the pointier bits of the fence posts. But he knows the foreground to the skyline like he knows the crook of his fingers around the triggers of his shotguns, how to make his body go limp and roll to displace the impact of a fall, how it feels to ignore bones knitting back together. He's considering it, cornered on the safety railing. Jack caught him up here, stealing some nicotine-laced breaths before he has to head up another operation.

Jack was watching him, choosing this rare spare moment they both had to strike. He said something has been wrong lately. He knew that Gabe hadn't been going to the mandatory trimonthly psych evals. He feels, hilariously, achingly like a middle manager at a performance review, that Gabriel has been withdrawn.

"I'm the head of the dark side of the world's shining beacon of cooperation and good-fucking-feelings." A long exhale, dragging out the smoke. "I feel like being a little withdrawn comes with the territory."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Jack stood his ground. "Tell me the reason you're acting this way."

"I solemnly swear-"

"Don't be smart!" Jack's fist closed around his hips, unwilling to break the square foot he stationed for himself. He was falling back into his leader idea that men solid as statutes will inspire everyone to fall to their knees and pledge fealty to the path of good. Maybe Gabe was projecting a little on the kneeling thing. "I wanna know why the best tactician in my organization is suddenly running scared on me."

Gabriel looked at him, considering. The way his jaw was set just beneath gnashing, the persistent left eye twitch that was never there after the serum. He pulled the cigarette to his mouth, taking in a long inhale. He let the smoke burn in his lungs for a moment before exhaling in one sharp breath.

"If you wanna know so badly," Gabriel said, tapping ash from the tip of his cancer stick, pushing himself from the railing. He stalked forward until he stood a foot from Jack's face. "Close your eyes."

"No."

Stubborn as always. "Close your fucking eyes Jack." Stubborn as always.

Jack's baby blues searched his face thoroughly, trying to find something, anything that would give Gabe's plan away. Gabriel kept his face passive, letting though a fraction of the tired he felt, playing good cop to get the enemy to sympathise. "I'm not gonna punch you or anything." He held up the two fingers that dangled his cigarette in a mock salute. "I swear."

Jack closed his eyes on one last warning flash. Gabriel took the luxury of this moment to study his face, admire the way his cheekbones cut off the moonlight, the way his blonde eyelashes absorbed it greedily. A soft puff of breath come from his nose, forcibly taking some tension away from his shoulders.

He leaned in and placed a hand to the back of Jack's skull. Jack moved closer, maybe on some sort of instinct, maybe to get a better angle to headbutt Gabe if he tried to do anything funny. Gabe allowed himself a couple twitches of his fingers through the short cornsilk hairs at the nape of his neck, a couple of seconds to admire the cupid's bow of his patient mouth. They way he was trusting Gabriel to not snap his neck.

Gabriel kissed Jack, just pressed their lips together, trying not to hold him too tightly with the hand cradling Jack's nape. He counted and pressed further for one, two, and pulled back, taking his hand away at the same time. Jack tried to stay attached, leading him outside the constraints of the careful box he constructed. Following Gabe out of the careful box he constructed.

Why did Jack do that. Why would he chase Gabriel's mouth, how could he be the cruelest in reminding Gabe that any reality where Jack would take his hand next, would smile easily, would let himself be led out of his fucking nightmare of an organization and be pressed easily and happily into a mattress, lived only in his synapses and would die there too. It was cruel of Jack to follow his mouth when Gabe would never see if Jack's blush really does go all the way down, to make a pained noise Gabe would never know the taste to. Unintentional cruelty was a trademark of Jack's, in a way.

"Gabe." Jack's eyelashes fluttered, his eyes kept only half open, like he was afraid at what he'd see if he opened them fully. (He didn't smile, he just looked stunned.) Gabe knew how to steel his expression. Gabe knew exactly what face Jack would see, if he ever deigned to look at him, because it's the same face Jack has seen almost every time he looked at Gabriel.

Maybe it's better if he keeps his eyes down. Can't excavate all of the demons in Gabe's chest in a night.

"Gabriel, what was that?" It came out in a whisper. He tried to look up into Gabriel's eyes and Gabe turned around, bringing his dying cigarette to his lips again. He didn't breathe in. "No, don't walk away from this, the hell did that mean?"

Gabe could hear Jack's footsteps thudding on the concrete the same way his were, a faster rhythm to try and reach Gabe across the roof. He stopped a second after Gabe did. "I kissed you." Gabe flicked away the cigarette, grinding it down underneath his shoe. He was a coward, and the smartest man in the goddamn world. "I'm going to assume it's happened to you before tonight."

Jack took the baby steps to reach him, but hadn't forced Gabe to turn around. "Gabe, look at me." Gabriel walked, ignoring the order.

"Gabriel."

He said it like it hurt, like it tore up his mouth to form the soft sounds. "You can't just- Gabe!"

Gabriel kept walking, heading back into the shadow of the building, chased by his voice. "Chase me if you want, Morrison." Gabriel turned around when he reached the doorway, finally looking him in the face again. He tried to strip the reverence from Jack's name. There was no way to tell what just happened, not just from looking at Jack. No tracing the outline the stolen moment, no way to know he was just destroying someone else's life. "But good luck finding me, rubio. I've got an op to run."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I usually don't write angst but whoop-dee-doodle I actually only wrote this because I had that image of Crackerjack sounding broken when Gabriel kisses him sweetly and reverently and needed a nice crunchy shell around it. I just *clenches fist* love this emotionally complicated tragic romance.


End file.
